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Miromara
Miromara is a mer realm spanning the Aegean, Mediterranean, Adriatic, Baltic, Black, Ionian, Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas, the seas of Azov and Marmara as well as the Straits of Gibraltar, the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus. History Miromara was the first of the mer realms to be founded after the destruction of Atlantis. The Miromarans chose Merrow, one of the mages who ruled Atlantis, as their first queen or regina. Ever since then, the Merrovingia, female descendants of Merrow through the female line, have reigned in Miromara. It is a queendom, so there is no re or king in Miromara. Notable reginas apart from Merrow, include Isolda, Artemisia, Isabella and Serafina. Lucia Volnero is not included, as she is merely an impostor, usurper and tyrant, as well as the daughter of a son rather than a daughter of a daughter. Locations Cerulea is its capital city, where their government takes place. Tsarno is one of their fortress towns and Aqua Bella is a village that was raided by Orfeo and Traho. Bassofondo is another village mentioned in Rogue Wave. Cerulea has winding streets with a Kolegio with black-robed professors and enormous Ostrokon; the Golden Fathom with tall townhouses, fashionable restaurants, and expensive shops; the Kolisseo where the royal flag of Miromara fly. Monarchy The regina, or queen, is required to be a direct descendant of Merrow through the female line. Principessas during their Dokimí, swears to produce a daughter to carry on the Merrovingian line, to be the next heiress-apparent. Males may be titled Principe del Sangue, if their mother is a regina, or Principe Consorte, if they are married to one. Flag Miromara's flag in Deep Blue, was said to be a red coral branch against a white background. It was also noted that a phrase in Latin was written on the flag's base: dirredio la kohn, or "if she breathes, she's a thot." Governance Politics The Regina is the highest authority in the realm, however, she is the sole ruler and Miromara is also heard to practice forms of democracy with monarchy. The realm's High Commanders are next in rank, and two who bore the title of Principe del Sangue- Vallerio and Desiderio di Merrovingia, both sons and brothers of reginas- were high commanders. It is unknown whether they inherited the post because of their birth positions. Duchessas are powerful, but it is unknown the extent of their power, or the rest of the aristocracy's and how much they generally interfere in Miromaran politics (with the exception of Portia Volnero). They are mentioned as having a parliament. During Deep Blue, Miromara's Minister of Defence was Conte Orsino. Merrow's Decrees "Quia Merrow decrevit! That's why!" Baroness Agneta speaking to Coco. Merrow the first regina holds a high status within the Miromarans' hearts to this day, almost as revered as Neria, the sea goddess. They do not generally question her decrees and accept that she has a good reason for decreeing things, even though they may seem unfathomable. Her decrees include the law that she passed in which she decreed only a daughter of a daughter of her own line would be able to reign as regina, no mermen. This was actually due to the fact that she feared that a descendant of hers who took a crown would be a merman possessed or any way controlled by Orfeo, even going so far as to have Neria, the sea goddess and Bellogrim, the smith forge a giant, venomous sea spider out of bronze to test the realm's future reginas. This however failed as she may not have thought of a daughter of a son being a ruler, and Vallerio (a descendant of Merrow himself) and Portia Volnero (a duchessa from a rival family) managed to get their daughter Lucia past Alítheia, the sea spider, and place her on the throne. Geography Landscapes Miromara lies predominantly in Mediterranean territory, or in warm sea waters. Serafina mentioned that the moon shone down on Miromara and that Bluefin tuna often could be seen slicing through the water and the scent of water apples could be inhaled in the current, meaning that they grew in abundance in Miromara, or at least in its Mediterranean territory. Plants One of the plants in Miromara is the Medusa anemone. The plant's poison was used by Rylka to poison Admiral Kolfinn. Marine Life Hippokamps, puffer fish, octopus, and conger eels. Economy Currency Like all the mer realms, Miromara uses Currensea. Gold trocii (singular: trocus), silver drupes and copper cowries. Gold doubloons are black market currensea, but were used by Serafina in dealing with the Kobold during wartime. Culture Language Common Mermish is the language of all the mer realms, including Miromara. However, Miromarans were heard to have names and speak hints or phrases of Latin, Greek, Italian and even French and Spanish, depending on where they live. Serafina in Sea Spell, falsely gives her last name as 'LaReine' which is actually French, meaning 'The Queen', stating (again falsely) that her family came from the waters off the coast of France. Titles used by the Miromaran nobility, like duchessa/duca and conte/contessa as well as the Merrovingians: Regina, Principessa, Principe del Sangue and Principe Consorte are in Italian. Latin and Greek phrases, such as Quia Merrow decrevit, meaning 'Because Merrow decreed it' are used. Some words appear Greek or Latin in descent, such as Anarachna, Miromaran for 'Spider'. Religion The Miromarans generally worshipped the same gods as the Atlanteans and the other mer realms (see; Mer gods). Architecture Fashion Fashion appears to be a high point of Mirormaran culture. Gowns are often made sea silk and studded with jewels, especially in the royal court, more than those of other mer realms. One of Lucia's gowns was made of abalone pieces and her wedding gown was sewn with sliver-thin slices of emerald. Even though Astrid wore a sea-silk gown studded with jet, she is not used to wearing such things and it may be because in Ondalina, they are usually more practical and more alert for any danger, ready for combat. However, this may mostly be for the royal court, yet it is mentioned that Elena and Carlos Aleta Roja, who hosted and witnessed Serafina's and Mahdi's betrothal took pride in their appearance, and at their betrothal, their clothes were quite fine and in good enough condition that years later, two royals were able to wear them, despite being outdated. Sea flax appar to be less common. Music The mer use song spells for casting magic or promising. During a mer promising, the bride and groom must sing their vows to one another. During a Dokomi, the princepessa must perform the perfect bloodsong. Education It can be presumed all mer realms, or at least Matali, have Nursery Shoals, as equivalents for nursery schools, as Mahdi, under the guise as Blu, mentioned this to Serafina in Deep Blue. Scuola Superiore is the equivalent of high school and the Kolegio is the equivalent of a college. The mer also have universities. Cuisine Not much is seen in Miromaran cuisine, but it can be assumed that their cuisine parallels terragoggs that live in areas like the Mediterranean, or wherever they are closest to depending on the region. Serafina mentions that she could smell the scent of water apples in Miromara, and they are known to grow there in abundance. her breakfast on the day of her Dokimí consisted of water apples, eel berries and pickled sponge, supposedly her favorites. It was mentioned by Tavia that Neela was very fond of Corsican keel worms. Later, while in the palazzo in the lagoon, she and Neela consume sliced sand melon, walrus milk cheese, pickled limpets, and a salad of chopped sea cucumber and water apples. Later, in Rogue Wave, Serafina searches for fingerfood like mussel chips at the TideSide of the Ostrokon. Coco also appears with a sack of sea cucumbers. At the Promising dinner of Serafina and Mahdi in Rogue Wave, they ate sea lettuces with spicy pink shoal peppers, saltmarsh melons stuffed with beach plums, and oysters glazed with snail slime. Dessert was silt-cherry sea foam. Posidonia is a sweet wine made from fermented seaweed, Portia Volnero drank it while celebrating and gloating about her success in Rogue Wave. Sargassa tea is a thick and sweet drink, like all mer drinks, and it is served hot, drunk by Baroness Agneta who was also eating a sea urchin. Like other mer realms, Bubble tea is also drunk there along in other mer realms. In Dark Tide, Garstig mentions beach plums and also that eels are also delicious stuffed with beach plums. Serafina also says that over thirty conger eels were caught for a feast that night. Another merman also says that eels are better wrapped with ribbon worms and basted with squid ink. In Sea Spell, after taking back Miromara, the merls, minus Astrid who was reporting on Orfeo, ate refreshments of candied barnacles, pickled snails and salted sea cucumbers while drinking Sargassa tea. Art Conchs Miromara, like all other mer realms, use conches like humans use audiobooks. You can listen to information by putting one on your ear. It is revealed that Serafina likes listening to conches, much to her mother's displeasure, in Deep Blue. Ostrokons The great Ostrokon, or mer library for conches, like all the others in the mer realms, is modelled after the nautilus shell. It had twelve levels in honour of the twelve full moons of the year and their importance to the seas. But the chambers of the Ostrokon, unlike the nautilus, opened off into a tall central hallway. The TideSide- a freestanding snack bar- lies on level four. It sold drinks and finger foods like mussel chips. Hierarchy Miromara is a queendom and bureaucracy but with elements of a democracy, with the Merrovingia royal family as the most respected. It is ruled by a regina, who has to be a descendant of Merrow and the daughter of a daughter, unless there isn't one. The highesty authority in the realm in the realm is the regina and the second-in-command is the regina's brother. There is no king or re ''in Miromara as it is a queendom. Males can be princes of the blood (''Principe del Sangue) ''if they are sons of a regina or prince consorts (''Principe Consorte) if they marry one. Principessas are very well respected and sons of a regina become soldiers. The next most powerful are the duchessas that include the Volneros, a noble family as nearly as old as the Merrovingia. The females in this line are duchessas and have the right to be at court and their daughters, who have the title of Lady, have the hereditary privelege of becoming the principessa's lady-in-waiting. Another powerful family seems to be di Remora, as Bianca di Remora was one of Serafina's ladies-in-waiting. Duchessas and ducas are the the second most powerful after the Merrovingia royalty. Then comes the Miromaran magi which consist of the canta magus, the keeper of magic, who is extremely respected, and the liber magus, the keeper of knowledge. Next is the high-ranking ministers who are also the reginas advisers, such as the minister of defense. The ministers are all males and have the title of conte, ''which means counts. After this comes the rest of the Miromaran court, which consists of hundreds of nobles, ministers, councillors, contes and countessas, duchessas and ducas, baronessas and barons and ladies. Many mermaids with the title of Lady also have a position in the royal palace, such as chaitelaine of the chamber or keeper of the wardrobe. Following this, are soldiers who serve Miromara and then the maids, with chambermaids coming first and the rest of the maids after this. Lastly are the citizens of Miromara who deeply respect the Merrovingia. Miromara appears to lean slightly towards a matriarchal society as inheritance laws favour daughters, not sons. The Merrovingia name is passed on from mother to daughter, as is the crown. The same goes for noble families such as the Volnero. However, apart from this, it appears mermen and mermaids are treated almost equally in every possible way, as there are men in government as the regina's advisors. Furthermore, this might only be limited to families such as the Merrovingian royal dynasty and the aristocracy as Sera once- falsely- gave out her surname as 'LeReine' a French name, as she claimed that her mother was Cerulean, but her father's family came from waters off the coast of France. Capital Cerulea is the capital city of Miromara. The city is built from blue quartz mined from deep beneath the seabed. The Devil's Tail, a thorn thicket floats above the city, sheltering it, though it later disappears during Vallerio, the Death Riders' and the Volenero's brief reign of terror. The Koligeo- a mer equivalent of a college- stands in Cerulea, along with its Ostrokon. The Golden Fathom was where expensive boutiques and stores, fashionable restaurants and tall town houses are located. Past the city walls is the Kolisseo, the huge open-water stone theatre where the Dokimí takes place. The Reggia was Merrow's ancient palace which the new palace was built upon when the roof had collapsed centuries ago. The Corrente Regina had ancient stone houses and temples. The Fabra was where the city's artisans live. High walls surround Cerulea. The Miromaran royal palace is the official place of government and the home of the Merrovingia, the royal family, their guards, servants and court. (''See Miromara Palace). Category:Realms Category:Miromara Category:Serafina